Orbital Ambitions Meet Earthbound Reality at Planet Ventures

Private capital is flooding into the space sector at an unprecedented pace. Some $12.4 billion flowed into the industry in 2025, a 48% jump from the prior year, and the World Economic Forum projects the global space economy could exceed $1.8 trillion by 2035. Small satellites are the primary driver: as many as 16,900 are expected to launch by then, creating an urgent need for orbital infrastructure.

One micro-cap company trying to give retail investors a piece of that action is Planet Ventures, a Canadian holding firm that takes stakes in early-stage space startups. Its portfolio includes Mantis Space, a venture developing the first power grid for orbit — technology that would let satellites share electricity wirelessly, eliminating the weight and cost of individual solar panels and batteries. Planet Ventures committed $200,000 to that effort.

Alongside the power play, the firm also backed General Astronautics with $100,000. That startup, valued at $40 million and backed by chip giant Nvidia, is building autonomous robots to perform laboratory tasks in microgravity — mixing samples and operating pipettes without human crews. The goal is to lower the cost of research for pharma and biotech companies hoping to exploit the unique conditions of space.

Planet Ventures’ strategy has been to grow its asset base steadily. Over the past 2.5 years, net assets climbed from roughly $5 million to about $20 million. Besides Mantis and General Astronautics, its holdings include rocket builder Relativity Space and Lux Aeterna, as well as Antaris, which recently signed an agreement to develop a reconnaissance architecture. The first flight test for that project is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Planet Ventures?

Yet despite the portfolio expansion and the broader sector’s capital influx, the company’s own shares have taken a beating. In mid-June, the stock traded at C$0.215. It has since slumped to around US$0.15, a decline of roughly 47% over the past 30 days. The relative strength index sits at 28.9, deep in oversold territory, while annualized volatility has topped 100% — a vivid reminder of the speculative nature of micro-cap space plays.

The disconnect between strategic ambition and market reception highlights a structural tension. Planet Ventures positions itself as a bridge for retail investors into a private market normally reserved for institutions, but the company itself remains tiny and its shares are punished by any whiff of early-stage risk. The next major catalyst comes with the Janus-2 mission, expected late next year, when Antaris aims to put its reconnaissance architecture into orbit.

If that flight succeeds, the portfolio’s value could get a tangible boost — and the stock might finally reflect the underlying asset growth. For now, the market is pricing in a deep discount that some traders see as a potential bounce candidate, while others simply view the volatility as too extreme.